JOPLIN, Mo. — The night cap of day two has come to a close in the Central Regional I bracket, as Team 28 took on the eighth-seeded Augustana Vikings following the unit defeating its in-conference foe St. Cloud State with a 4-0 final. Augie carried over that momentum into its contest with the Muleriders for the first three innings, but after a late-game spurt by the Blue and Gold, SAU eliminated the Vikings with an 11-6 final score.
With the 11-run spotting in the final elimination game of the bracket, Southern Arkansas recorded its second 11-run outing against Augie this season, as the squad defeated the group early in the season 11-4.
After defeating Augustana, the Muleriders will now look to battle the top-seeded Missouri Southern State Lions again tomorrow, as the Blue and Gold aim to defeat the host twice tomorrow in order to advance to the Super Central Regionals.
Central Regional Semifinals vs. Augustana | W, 11-6
Making her third start of the weekend, and her 36th of the campaign, Emma Duncan pitched for the first 2.0 innings, in which allowed four hits, three runs, a walk, and waved three batters. Two batters into the top of the third, Kassie Rhodes came in to relive Duncan, as the Quitman, Arkansas local went the rest of the way and allowed four hits, three runs (two earned), three walked, but then struck out five batters. Rhodes went on to claim the victory in the outing, marking her 16th dub of the season (16-3).
The first pair of frames saw neither team able to scratch across a run, but that went on to change in the second inning. To lead off the top of the second, Augie tallied a solo home run to claim the 1-0 lead, but that would be it for the Vikings in the far, as Duncan struck out the side.
Southern Arkansas managed to retaliate with a run of its own in the bottom frame. Payton Owens started the brief rally with a two-out single to third base. Up next came AvaMarie Perry who reached on first on a throwing error by third base, which also advanced Owens to third. Then came a single by Peyton Raley, who singled to bat in Owens and tie the contest at 1-1 heading into the third.
Augustana came back at the Muleriders strong in the top of the third, as the unit led off with a double and drew a walk. Following Rhodes' entrance to the circle, Augie singled to left field and loaded the bases before popping out for the first out of the frame. The group then followed with another double, which batted in all three runners and gave the Vikings a 4-1 advantage. After a foul out, Augie drew another walk and then scored an unearned run with the next batter reaching first on an error, 5-1.
Now in a hole, the Blue and Gold needed a big response to the four-spot by Augustana. Team 28 nearly did just that, as America Rubio doubled with one out, and was followed by a line out. Now with two outs, Paris Endris drew a walk and both runners advanced to scoring position with a Brooklyn Reed single. An Owens' walk cut the deficit to three with Ame scoring, 5-2. Then came Perry, who tallied another hit with a double to left center and batted in two more runs with Endris and Reed scratching across the plate, now down 5-4 going to the fourth.
After the third, neither squad managed to score another run until the bottom of the sixth inning, which is when the Blue and Gold turned the tables on the Vikings with a seven-run spot in the frame. The rally started with a lead-off single by AvaMarie. Coming into pinch run for Perry was Leigha Gilbert. After a fly out, Gilbert was able to round the bases with a Maddie Leal double to tie the contest at 5-5. Then came a walk drawn by Sophia Luetticke to put runners on the corners. After a long fly out, the six-run two-out rally began. Regan Dillon singled to bat in Leal for SAU's first lead of the night. Following Kelsie Adams came in to pinch run for Dillon, Endris drew a walk to juice the bases. Reed ensued to double and break the game open with three runs scored, batting in Luetticke, Adams, and Endris for a 9-5 advantage. Now with just Reed on base, Owens nailed a dinger over the left field wall to tack on two more insurance runs, now at 11-5.
With three outs remaining to advance to Saturday, Rhodes began with a backwards K, but did allow a late solo home run, which ended up not affecting the outcome as Kassie stuck out the next two batters to strikeout the side.
Up Next:
The Muleriders get a chance to bounce back in a major way, as Team 28 will go back up against the top-seeded MSSU Lions tomorrow, in which the Blue and Gold will need to defeat the tournament hosts twice in order to clinch a spot in the Super Central Regional next weekend. Tomorrow's first game is set for a 2:00 PM start with the if necessary game scheduled for 4:30 PM.
